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- Quinn.' tsts @anni @frn JOSEPH N. GASTON,l OF'L'YONS CITY, IOWA I Letters .Patent No. 69,793, dated October 15, 1867.

IMPROVED BUCKLE.

i TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN Be it known thatI JOSEPH N. GASTON, of Lyons City, county ofvClinton, and State of Iowa, have invented va new and useful improvement in Buckle..

The object gained by my invention is less material and greater strength, there being no tongue to punch a hole for, thereby weaking the trace cr' belt; also greater ease of regulating the length; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, 1eferen'ce being had to the annexcd drawings, and letters of reference marked thereon, all making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of the device.

Figure 2 is a perspective view.

Figure a trace or belt with the stops D D.

Figure 4 a section-on line S, iig. 1.

A and B represent part of hames, showing how the device may be attached; C represents the trace-tug or strap; D D represent the stops; E represents the buckle-frame; Frepresents the hame draught-strap; H, J, K, and O represent the cross-bars to buckle.

Now to enable others to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describeits construction and operation.

I construct the buckle E and the stops D D of any suitable material. The stops DD I fasten to the trace or strap by punching holes in the same for rivets. These holes I punch with a three-corneredawl, or any awl or punch that ywill not cut away the leather and thereby weakenit. These stops have a shoulder, as shown in the drawing, and are firmly fastened to the strap-or trace with rivets, at proper distances for lengthening and shortening the strap or trace. The buckle is made withve cross-bars, and may be with or without the ears to attach it to straps' A Bf This buckle is crooked or curved in form, so that a straight line will pass .over and under the bars O, J, and K. I attach the stationary strap or draught-piece firmly to the cross-bar O by sewing or riveting the same, also the straps A and B, attached in same wayto the ears.

The operation of my device is as follows:v After the buckle is attached to the permanent parts, take the piece that has the stops D D fastened toit and vpass the end through under H, over J, under K, over O, and under P, in fig. 2. The stops D D areso constructed that they will pass through the buckle as indicated. Now draw the stop D back past the bar K, then draw the stop D against thebars K, and it will be found that the shoulder in stop will t on said bar, and the strap or trace will be in a straight line, or nearly so, in iig. 4. i v

It will be seen that this arrangement has great advantage over the ordinary buckle, for there is no tongue to crimp the leather or hole to start a fracture from, thereby weakening the material.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isA

as indicated The buckle-frame E and stops D D, when constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

JOSEPH N. GASTON.

Witnesses:

W. W. SANBORN, JNO. W. McLEon, 

